Speak out!

 

All software packages in Vic’s Picks are also in the Master List, but the reverse isn’t true: Many in the Master List do not meet the criteria for notability to appear in Vic’s Picks – no longer supported perhaps, or have achieved little popularity.

Got a question about mind mapping software?

Head on over to the MindMapper’s Forum: http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/forum/ and Vic, or other mind mappers around the world will try to help.

Suggest software to add . . .

. . . to the Master List

If you know of software that is not included in the Master List which is a mapping application, or is used to organise information visually, please suggest it by adding a comment here.

. . . to Vic’s Picks

If you know of software that is not included in Vic’s Picks but which you believe is significant and in the mainstream of mapping, you may suggest it by adding a comment here.

Comment on software you’ve used

If there is software in Vic’s Picks that you have used, please tell us about it.  Just add a comment to the appropriate post to tell other readers about its user friendliness, reliability and functionality.

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8 Responses to “Speak out!”

  1. AJN says:

    Hi Vic,
    First I would like to thank you for the amazing information, very useful and inspirational.
    I have a huge collection of interconnected mindmaps (xmind and mindjet) and I am looking for a way to convert them into some advanced tools like Gephi, unfortunately those proprietary don’t consider intermediate format like XML,CSV…Do you have any idea on how to do that?

    Thanks for your time.

    AJN

    • Vic says:

      Hi AJN,

      Xmind and MindManager map files are both zip-type files that contain an XML file describing the map contents. The zip file also holds attachments.

      If you take a file such as yourmap.xmind or yourmap.mmap and rename it to yourmap.zip, you will then be able to open it as a compressed file and extract the .xml component.

      I think Gephi is a great mapping program, but have never looked at its file format or import or export capabilities. If it has an XML option, it should be possible to write an XSLT that prepares something suitable for Gephi to read.

      The mind-mapping.org pages on file interchange have information here about the schemata of both MindManager and Xmind which should help in making an XSLT.

      If you manage the conversion and are willing to share you findings, please let us know and I will be happy to publish them for anyone else who wants to know.

      Regards
      Vic (@VicGee on Twitter)
      http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/
      The master list of mind mapping &
      information management software

  2. Andy Turner says:

    Hi there

    I have used mindjet and freemind software. I am looking for a product that allows me to create maps that are not just hierarchical tree structures (parent -> child -> sub child etc), but where (for example) I can have ‘nodes’ that link both downwards in the normal tree way, but also sideways and back up – all the software I have seen so far won’t do that, other than allowing you to draw a arrow across. Hope that makes sense – I think I want each level to be independant, yet capable of linking to any other node on any other level.

    If you can help, please email me details, thank you, Andy.

    • Vic says:

      Hi Andy,

      What you’re looking for is concept mapping software. That is not constrained to a tree hierarchy.

      There are quite a few. Some options are Cmap, bubbl.us (browser based) , IdeaTree, VUE. Anyway there’s a list of 45 here.

      Vic

  3. Harry says:

    Hi,
    first of all I congratutalion for your HP.
    Putting together all this information must take a pretty long time.

    Since some days I am searching for something like a mindmapping tool, but in must have a calender funktion or you can say alarm tool.
    I this programm I looked close a litle bit, I couldn’t find something like a reminder tool.
    Please do you have a recommendation for me?
    Thank you in advanced.

    Harry

    • Vic says:

      There’s a good chance that mind mapping software that supports project management will have this function. So look for PM-oriented mind-map software that allows you to enter task information like intended start and completion date.

      Mindjet MindManager has a Topic Alert function that can be set to start when you computer starts, and will provide alarms. MindManager can also interact with Outlook, so you might find live connections to your Outlook calendar and alerts useful. Power Markers, and add-in for MindManager would be worth considering as well, because it can change the appearance of your mind maps according to the projimity of due dates. There is a free version and a paid-for one with greater capabilities.

      Amode is another that has an alert capability.

      Also I suggest you check the following for this: ConceptDraw; Mindgenius; MindMapper; and MindView.
      I don’t have copies of these, so I can’t be sure.

      As far as I know, there is no free mind mapping software that comes

      Regards
      Vic (@VicGee on Twitter)
      http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/
      The master list of mind mapping &
      information management software

      PS I took the liberty of moving your question from the ‘Compendium’ article. I hope you don’t mind. As you rightly mentioned, it was not the best place for me to answer the question.

  4. Henry says:

    Thanks, I love all the great information.

    I was wondering do any of the mind mapping s/w tools use sparklines as a graphical representation of an underlying dataset (reading excel, or web data table)? Michael Scherotter, formerly at mindjet, created an Excel Demo that made an excellent dashboard, but mindjet went a different direction after Michael left.